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jjljj THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, SUNDAY 3I0EXIXG, NOVEIBEK 3, 1912. M ,
I How Sneezing Spreads Disease,
1
She Recovers and la Outwardly
H
in But Her Nasal Passages Are Full
Hfl of the Germ 5
EB ASneeze Transmits the Germs to
BK Those Around Her-
H And They Fall Victims to the
Disease.
WM . . " Et'ENT h'Mcuiific invest iga
B l-J tiou indicate that by far
B XV Ercntwt single factor in
B tbo iprcarl of disease is
B whit has born hitherto regarded as
B tbo harmless net of s-ncezing.
B Thy list of deadly ailtuonls thus
B communicated includes infantile
B paralyyife, cerobo-spinal mcniugitis,
B diphtheria. Karlct fovcr, moaslos,
B whooping cough, mumps and last,
B but by no means least, the common
fl col', nil oio harmful effects -?irc
B greatly underestimated by tho nv-
B era go layman.
B This is truly a. formidablo list,
B and yet it doos not tako in con-
B &i do ration various other germ dis-
B cacs which Iris directly, perhaps,
B may be transittcd in tho same
B ""manner.
B Thus it Ttrould hardly bo accurate
B to say that tuborculosis as a son-
fl .oral thine is spread by sneezing, bo-
B r a iiso tbo scat of iufoction of this
B diseaso is not the air pastago of the
nose and throat, but tho lungs,
B from which the gorma aro not
B ordinarily ejected by tea act of
nacccing.
B But. Ob the othor hand, thegorms
of this disease, liko many others,
freely circulating in the air and
dint", readily find cutraneg into the
note and throau oC normal per
sons who, by snooping, mar oasilr
traosmit tham to thoao suscoptiblc
to tbo dUoase.
Indeed, the most alarming phajo
of the latent ntediciil disco very Uos
io the fart that the nwc ef tho in
feetiouft diseases mcutioaod arc
sueh as may b6 communicated by
perfeetlr uenltby porsons who,
tie crthclrM. entry th gorme.
H Tbuft pr. L'barlo . Boldttan, one
the tM-terioU-ien expert of tho
BH . X Vprk health departwont, has
Bfl declared that one out of crory hun
drrd individuals earrio the gonna .
of diphtheria eoastantly in his
throat, sltboutrk. be may naror
have suffered fmm tbo diacso aim -cH.
ThU i liks-ivbc true
of various other eqnalty dnnoroiu
ilmnt A ao partieulur effort
i ordintirily made in repress
artu?. beaua it baa hitherto
hcen ooMdrrd bnrtaieM. the
Tread of diMase ia this mn ha or
fca' ibvioaU ha muck mtcr
j thn it micbt o;bmi bars bora.
Tb important of tbo ditvenr.
n '-"-r'rr. in fhr fa,j thai i!
't! be j.r.-'.h f, a. o-rj r-r "
; 'I
3
1 Science Discovers a New Reason
, for Epidemics of Scarlet Fever,
i Measles and Spinal Meningitis in
j the Sneeze, Which Is an Effective J
Way of Passing on the
Germs from One Person to Another
-rrhirh havn hitherto not boon mk
peeted. -.
Thut measles and scarlet f(?ver
nre jproad by the sncoze. and not
by falling scales of s"kln, as used
o be imapinod, has only very
recently bocn learned;- One of
the most conspicuous symptoms of
measles is a "cold." Inch causes
murh- snoezinp and rouphinp. By
(his means the germs of tho disease
arc ecattercd about and other poo
pie tako. them in "frith' tho air. thoj:
breathe. No- ivon'der thnt tho
malady is o rcmarkdbl" eon
tapjous. Tho discovery that mcasios is
spread by sneninp vra made very
rccontlj' by Dr. John F. Anderson,
thf eminent surgeon in charge of
the government hypicnic labora
torj1 at Washington. Its-importance
caji hardly be exaggerated, for it
shovrs exactly how the spread of
this highly-contagious malady can
be prevontod. One word cxprc&sos
the whole idaa. isolatign. ' A suf
ferer from the diseaio (which is
much more, frequently fatal than is
commonly supposed) ' must be
quarantined as . rigidly . a? if for.
smallpox.
The- germ of measles, liko those
of yellow fovcr and scarlet fever,
i probably too minute to be seen,
even with tho aid of a microscope.
At nil events, it hat novcr been
identified, though Dr. Anderson has.
found that monkeys arc subject to
the disease, and there is hopo that
a serum may be obtained for its
cure or prevention.
Common colds arc distributed in
the samo iy- One person in a
family who happens to be thus af
flicted is likely, by sneezing, to fill
the. whole honsa with germs'.
They float about in' tho air. and it
is mern chance "if ccry nicrnbcr of
the household does not catch the
complaint. One often notices how
a cold "runs, through" a family;
now wc know the reason.
It has been proved by experi
ment that a person suffering from
a cold will discharge tho germs to
a'distancc of fiv'o fect by the mere
act of talking in a loud voice. This
was ascertained by holding gela
tino plates in front of tho talker,
the germs received upon them be
ing afterward developed into "cul
tures." Judge, then, of what must
happcu wlfcn the kind of explosion
which wc call a sneeze occurs.
H has been estimated that as
tho result of a sneer.o over a hun
dred cubic feet of the surrounding
air becomes filled with jjcrms dis
charged by tho siuecze.
You get aboard a street car. A
pastscngoi snccr.es violently two or
threo times. The result is invis
ible to your eyes, but what it
amounts to is that all of tho air in
side of the vehiclo is filled with ex
ceedingly minuto particle, every
ono of which carries a few germs
of the cold from which the sneezer
is suffering. If you do not catch
. it, you are in luck, that is nil.
Epidomies . of bnd colds often
spread through entire communities;
' the street cars help a lot. It is
thft snmo way with grippe. Tho
latter, of course, is a dangerous
' disease, but colds also are danger
ousmuch more so than most pco
plo imagine. They are t.ho starters
of inanj a serious, and even fatal,
malady.
Do you know what makes so
many people deaf? Tn nearly "all
casos that latncntablo affliction is
duo to common colds and nothing
else. From (ho nasnl passages, on
oach side thereof, a tube loads di
rectly to the innorcar. These arc so
eallod oustachiau tubes, and their
busincAS is to supplr air to the
space behind tho car drum, in order
that tho latter may vibrate freclv
in rcsponso to muiikI waves. Rut
it" the tubes bo obstructed, there is
interference with this function, and
denfnoss ensues.
Tbo germs of colds arc liable to
make their wa from tho nasnl pa
suges nlong and through tho tubes,
causing a congestion of their lin
Hgg, If. ns often happens, such
congestion hoeomcs chroriie, more
or Jots deafness inevitably result,
l urthcrmorc. tho deafness is pro
grossivc; it. becomes stoadili
though lUowly worFo as time "oc"
on. ' r
Doafacss is uamllv regarded a .
an affliction or ago cspcciallv. But
it is not such in realitv. Like bald
ness, it is an afllictiou of youth.
If a mna is going to become bald,
c begins to lose bis hair while vet
in his twenties. H is tbo $nmo way
with doafnes. Tho trouble mav
ot bo noticed for manv ycar, hut
it starts carlv in liffa.i a rule.
Tbo famous Dr. Woods Hutchison .
svs that old folks are moro liable
than young pooplo to bo very hard
of boaniw:. beennse. Imviotr livod
teager. thy "bavn had more tine
in wbkh to catch colds."
Dr. W. C. Kuckor. assfeiant ur
KeoM corsl of the nubile bwltL
srTieo. is authority for tbo nutc
mat that DrobabJy harlot fgYot,.
inwwD ad wbo'tpjn? covcb ar
Mrd br mj(he1bC. That Itphth
na -atorci in tb' fVr-r
- number of 3'cars ago tho famous
Dr. KlobSj ono of tho two men who
first fouud tho gorm of diphtheria,
exhibited to his pupils largo plates
of glass which wcro held (sovoral
foot away) in front of a person
sick with diphtheria, the latter bo
in thereupon induced" to fcacczc. A
chemical stain -was; then1 applied to
tho gjass, which colored only tho
diphtheria, gorlns, and. tho lattor
woro seen lo-be'-scattcrcd profusely
- oyer the, surface.-
Tho germs of infantilo. -paralysis
havo recently been proved' to grow
plentifully" in tho nasal secretions
of persons suffering from that dis-
- case and thore is oxcellent reason
for. supposing- that it may be, and
ofton is, communicated' by sneez
ing. It has been demonstrated (again
on the authority of . Dr. Kuokcr)
that thjo frighttul malady called
ccrcbral-spinal moningitis ir. dis
tributed "by chronic "carriers"
that is to say, by healthy persons
who, without being at all awnrc of
tho fact, carry, the germs in their
throats . and . nasal passages. Thoy
go about snoozing- hero and there,
and1 peoplo pick up tho complaint
Tlii; accounts for tho fact that the
disease is so markedly ''sporadic"
. in' charaurcr. cases appearing in ono
placo and another without any ap
parent connection.. But if tho "truth
wcro known, tho opidomic (whou
ono occurs) was ca.uFed, perhaps,
by a single "carrior" who be
stowed tho infection upon different
pooplo with whom ho happened to
. come into contact.
Surgeons nowa
days in perform
ing operations, aro
careful to wear
masks over their
noses and mouths,
lost by sneezing
or coughing they
i n f o c t wounds.
When it is'rcalizod
that pus-forming
germs aro at all .
times vrrr numcr
i
our in tho throat
and nasal passages,
it will bo realized
how necessary is
this precaution.
Now, why ia it
that wo sneeze
When ono comos
to think of it, the
performance i t
rather odd. Never
theloss, it must
mean some-thing;
it must havo a ,
defiuito object. v
Quito truo, it has
au object, and one
that is highly im
portant. The prime
necessity of hfo is
fresh air for
breathing; hence
tho breathing tiibo
must bo kept open.
Tho noso is the ex
ternal oponing of
this tube, and tbo
ibjcct of tho sneeze
is to remove ob
structions. Tho napal pas
sages aro lined
with sensitive
nerves. Any irrita
tion of these norves
suggests an ob
htruction and pro
duces a spasm. The
spasm and its ro
ll lex constitutes
what wo call a
snooze.
io sneeze sems a simplo mat
tor. Wb- do it -without thinking
about it particularly, tho perform
nnco boing quijo autoniatie. But
in roality it is a coinpiex business,
involving the entire mochunism of
tho respiratory apparatus.
First, as a preparation, it is
nocossary to fill your lungs a
thing accomplished by a suddon in
take of tho breath. Now you aro
almost roady. But, as a further
proliminary, you closo 'tightly all
tho passagos of nose and throat
through which air cau bo expollud
from tho lungs. Thoa, with a. ?i
lost contraction of tha dia
phragm and other powerful ,
Mingles, you stmukaasously open
tho nose a ad throat, nnd the air
capes- Being under prtatura, it '
makes a loud ooie for exactly
the taut roftoa that a bursting
automobile tiro goe bang! ,
' TbuT is 'a saeeze. Te 'air 'is
Mown out with nch vio'encp to '
I.Iim1pc nr.v .rdninr obxtrurlior . i
' hc-f v 113 ,1 rijtr' 1 on rif
mucii3 in .the nasal pnhsages, -U is c
di5chargeT;' - A 6onso of roliof fol-. $1
lows nd thu sneezer, in restoring ?S
his handkerchief to his pocket, ' vp
utters-a gasp of satisfaction.
'But -if the oxplosiou (for such it "
isf-'in fact) is pormiltcd to occur'. .- .
ivithout intervention by tho hand.-j.': .,
kerchief, it'- is incvitab,lo that: ; '
any-gopms existing in the uasal- '
passages." bhpuld bo distributed-far.- .
and wido, -to the great 'peril of "
othcj: people. . j-tfi ' '
Tbcate'rs, that aro poorly vcnli ' '
latcd as .i rule, aro great places for J v-' V.
catching colds. Crowded by night -
and bv:day, 'the air thoy offor for . ' ' .' '
brcathfug purposes is full of germs
distributed by sneezing and cough- '
ing people. Tho dust on tho -floor
is filled with them, and, stirred up '" "v"
constantly by tho shuffling zeet of '
in-comors and out-goer6, it ricos, -to
bc .takon iuto fko lungs and
brcatliibg passages of tho "specta
tors.. Colds, it. should be realized, are , '
amoji tho most contagious of nil i
discatcs. They aro spocific infec
tions, due not to oue kind of gorm
incroI but to a number. Ono of
the most conspicuous- species of
cold-produciug microbes is the mi- W
crococcus- catnrrhalis which being tmjk
translated, moans "little round MS?
bacterium of catarrh." It has been IM&k
bred artificially, so that it is thor- fmgi
oughly -well, know n. fitSk
pftcn it is found fc
in "pure culture" JLT Afl
in tho nasal pas. 0 fff
sapes, indicating that it has multi
plied at such a rato as to shut out -all
Othor varieties of bactoria.
What cna be done to prevent the
sprood of disease by fcueeziug? To
prevent mothers from communicat
ing cokk and othor diseases to
thoir babies, doctor now oblige
tho mothor to tic a handkerchief,
over her nose and mouth while she
lmrsc or otherwiso handlon th
child. Thus. her sneezing or
oturhing will npt endanjfor the
baby.'
Those who aje habitual saeozer;
owe it tov the communtty to under
go medical troatmoat for thoir.
condition. A nasal sprav, pre
cribe4 b' a physician, mav bo all
-rbat is noccseary.
For the, rest of us. all that enn
bo done r to repress the snoexr
wheneA'or possible, and when it is"
aot, to use one" baudkorflbief. J
; " ', :' tW "By for the greatat .ingle factor in tb. .red ot &ee b wfet
I p ' h" ieen hitherto regarded a, the harmlew acl of 6neezingr .
MISS STENOGRAPHSR
Business rirms are usIbr tb Waj;
Ada daily ia tboir. search for otfleieat
young wouice and office belporj. Can't
you better jvourself bv . keeping in
touch with the Want Ads 7 The Want
Ads aro for yon. J
Deadly Diseases Scattered by the SneeJ
Mi
INFANTILE PARALYSIS AND SPINAL DIPHTHERIA. One out of ever? W;
MENINGITIS. The germs of those diseases persons carries the germs of this dJse--
arc now definitely known to lodge in the nasp.l tliroat and spreads them by sneeri ' J
passages, vhenco they ure expelled in sncezintr , j ( n";
i feezing. PNEUM0NIA Pneumococci lodge in
MEASLES. Colds and sneering are invariably throat and are ejected by sneezing
symptoms of tin, disease and, it has been re- WHOOPING COUGH AND MP ;
cently ascertained, account for its apread. maladie8( often serioUS in their sfterj
SCARLET FZVER. Not the scaling of the are known to be communicated by sC,x
skin but the distribution of germs lodged in COLDS. This common but dangerous
nasal passages is now known to be the cause is readily communicated by sM
f conton' are the principal cause of deift b
: - . im
